Travel Advice - Five
questions that will help you plan travel

Planning is an aspect of taking a vacation that most people would rather
avoid. Making vacation plans seems to be the start of a process that has
no rules and no satisfaction. Many people wonder, “Where do you start?”
Others ask, “How do you reach a conclusion?”

You can make vacation planning a lot simpler. Try this: view the
process as a funnel that has a series of filters inside of it that trap
ill-conceived ideas and let out only the best vacation plans.

Figure 1. The travel funnel

One of the best ways to approach travel planning is to create a “travel
funnel” with five filters. You create these filters by asking and
answering: who, what, when, where and why. For reasons that will become
apparent in a few moments, let’s re-arrange these filters as follows:
why, who, what, where, and when.

The "Why" in vacation
planning is more important than it seems.

The “why” of a vacation relates to the reason you want to travel.
Successful vacations are those that meet a specific set of needs and are
optimized though planning to meet the desired objectives.

Start by asking about the need this vacation should be designed to
fill.

For instance, if you have been through the mill at work during the
last few months, are really beat and need to heal, your
vacation should include significant amounts of time for rest and
relaxation (pool, manicures, massages, being waited on – whatever it
takes).

Alternatively, you may have been locked indoors through a
“terrible winter” and dream of warm beaches and outdoor activities
that will help rid you of “cabin fever”.

There are numerous answers to the question “why” and you need to noodle
on the answer that describes your vacation related needs.

After all, you are the only one who knows what you want and what
type of vacation would do the trick.

Sometimes, the answer to the “why” question may help you understand
that you should not go on vacation.

For instance, if your needs are peace and quiet and not worrying
about your finances, you should find a way to arrange to satisfy this
need close to home without paying for a trip that you cannot afford.

"Who" should go on
the vacation? Not all vacations are for all family members.

The answer to the “who” question depends largely on whether or not you
have a family, spouse, or other significant relationship.

If so, you will need to understand the answer to the “why” question
for each of these travelers and attempt to mix and match these
objectives to the best of your ability.

Remember, there is no rule that says that everybody in your group
has to go on every vacation.

Group travel objectives are often incompatible. Prioritize each
person’s needs and rank them in the order of importance. We know this
can be a painful experience. However, if you cannot agree on this issue
when you are planning your vacation, we can guarantee you that the trip
will leave everyone dissatisfied and your vacation will be miserable.

Once you have gathered everybody’s “wants”, share the rankings with
your travel mates.

Discuss the reasons for rating one objective more important than
others.

Work at getting agreement.

Do your best, cut your losses, and do not look back.

Anybody who did not get exactly what they wanted this year, goes to
the top of the list next year.

If you cannot come to a mutual decision, perhaps you need to consider
separate vacations. Now you know why it is so important to answer the
“why” question in a serious and thoughtful manner.

What activities should
be included on your vacation? How to keep the entourage happy!

Create a list of vacation activities that you feel meet the vacation
needs that resulted from answering the "why" and "who" questions. Set
this list without regard to a specific location or time, as
“where” and “When” should always be subordinate the “why” and “what”. In
general, there are usually a number of activities that can meet a
specific vacation goal, as goals generally express a relatively broad
category of wants.

Be sure to ask yourself very specific “what” oriented questions.

Instead of accepting that the reason for the vacation is “…I have
always wanted to go to Hawaii” ask what it is that you want to do in
Hawaii (do you want to explore, sit on the beach, surf?).

Be specific, instead of saying you want to play golf ask, “Do I want
to take lessons?

Always ask, “Do I just want to hang out with my friends, drink beer,
eat well, and relax?”

When should you take
your vacation?

The “when” question is usually simple to answer, since it depends on
your availability of your group.

The question here should really be “When can I travel in a manner
that will respond the needs that are driving this
vacation?”

In turn, the answer to the “when” question may help to answer the
“where” question, since seasonality is a large part of the
attractiveness of vacation destinations.

Where should you go on
your vacation?

Answering the question “where” is simple in concept and difficult in
execution since it is the question that must be based on the answers to
“Who, Why, What and When". However, the answers to the previous
questions will filter out a large number of places that just won’t work
for you. Normally, several destinations will come to mind that can meet
your travel needs. Researching these locations is one of the most
enjoyable parts of vacation planning.

Next Steps

The “where” question, unfortunately is often the question that must
bring us to dealing with the issues of what we can afford and how long
we can be away while on vacation. Don’t chicken out at this stage. There
are many destinations that can meet your travel needs and they do not
need to be either far away or expensive. Focus on the locations and
activities that you can afford and save the ones that you can’t for next
year when your fortunes have improved.

If you need to find information about Destinations or other Things
Travelers Need To Know, try Googling ThereArePlaces.